THE BASICS 
October 21, 2023 | 7:00 p.m. | Moglia Stadium at Jack Coffey Field (Bronx, N.Y.) 

Duquesne Dukes (6-6-2, 3-2-1 A-10) 

• Streak: L1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

Fordham Rams (6-2-5, 3-2-1 A-10) 

• Streak: T2 | Roster | Stats | Schedule   

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BY THE NUMBERS 

 
 
THE DUKES 

• Duquesne started conference play 2-0-1 but has dropped two of its last three A-10 games. 
• The three goals for the Dukes in their last conference match against George Washington is the most they've had in a single game since a 5-1 victory against Virginia Tech August 27.  
• Duquesne dropped a 2-0 decision to Pitt last time out on Tuesday.  
• Ask Ekeland leads the Dukes with eight goals, putting him second in the A-10.
• Ekeland and Jayden Da both have three game-winning goals this season.  
• Three of Da's six scores have been game-winners - the second-most in the A-10 and 19th-most in the NCAA … Da had a four-game scoring streak earlier this season and posted his sixth goal three weeks ago at Davidson, giving him a team-leading 15 points for the season. 
• Da has put over half his shots on target at 55.2%, good for first in the A-10 … Ekeland ranks fourth in the same category at 47.2%. 
• Da (1.23) is third in the A-10 in shots on goal per game, while Ekeland (1.21) is fourth. 
• Ekeland's 1.31 points per game ranks sixth in the conference.
• DU is 3-1-1 when Da scores, with wins against Virginia Tech, Niagara and Robert Morris. 
• The Dukes are second to George Mason in the A-10 in Shot accuracy at a 47% clip. 
• DU has assisted on 14 of its 19 goals this season … three Dukes are tied with three assists… 12 different players have accounted for DU's 18 assists. 
• Duquesne goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy has two clean sheets this season … He ranks 6th in the nation and leads the Atlantic 10 with 68 saves … Nagy's .773 save percentage is good for second in the conference. 

LAST TIME OUT 

• The Dukes couldn't break through at Pitt, being shutout 2-0.  
• Pitt finally broke the ice and got out in front of the Dukes in the 66th minute off a corner. Fabian Grau headed a pass to Guilherme Feitosa who finished with his right thigh as he went crashing into Zoltan Nagy for his second goal of the season. 
• Pittsburgh outshot Duquesne, 9-6, in the match, holding a 5-3 edge in the second half of play. Duquesne and Pitt combined for six cards, each of which were yellows. Duquesne had four of the six.   

THE RAMS 

• Fordham, members of the A-10 conference, currently hold a 6-2-5 record overall in 2022.
• The Rams own an A-10 mark of 3-2-1, with all their wins being at home. The Rams have beaten St. Bonaventure, Davidson and Saint Joseph's.  
• Fordham drew with UMass its last time out, 1-1. 
• The Rams hold a dominant 5-0-2 record at home this season.  
• Keeper Carter Abbott has been solid in net for the Rams with an .887 goals against average (GAA) and 34 saves. 
• Florian Deletioglu leads the Rams in points with 16 thanks to seven goals and two assists.  

THE SERIES 

• Duquesne owns an all-time record of going 5-7-2 against the Rams.  
• The series started in 2002, and Duquesne won the first four meetings. Since then, Duquesne is 1-7-2 against Fordham.  
• In the first meeting, Duquesne won by a 10-0 final score.  

ROAD WARRIORS 

• Since the start of 2022, Duquesne has had a winning record in games away from home with an 8-7-3 record.   
• They posted two notable wins away from home against Power Five schools with a 1-0 win over Michigan in 2022 and a 5-1 victory this season over Virginia Tech.   
• This season, DU is 2-4-1 on the road with both wins coming in non-conference games. 

ALL-TIME LEADERBOARD 

• Maxi Hopfer is currently seventh all-time at Duquesne with 18 goals scored over his career … Simon Gomez and Steve Mellor lead Hopfer by two with 20 career goals … Damien Pottinger (2000-03) holds the top spot in the record book with 38. 
• Hopfer is also ninth in career points with 46 and sits four back of eighth place, which is held by Dave Kovalcik (1995-97, 99) … Damien Pottinger (2000-03) owns the most points all-time with 89.
• Hopfer moved up to fourth all-time in career shots after opening weekend … His 168 shots trail third place by 21, as Simon Gomez (2010-13) has 189 … Joshua Patterson (2009-12) took 220 in his career to lead all DU players. 
• Hopfer has seven game winning goals in his career, the sixth most in DU history … Steve Mellor (2002-05) is in fifth with eight game winners … Damien Pottinger (2000-03) and David Gingrich (1999-02) are tied for the lead with 10. 
• Hopfer saw his first game action since the season opener Sept. 30, playing 26 minutes, after battling an early-season injury. 
• Nate Dragisich is currently third all-time at Duquesne in career assists with 21 … Simon Gomez (2010-13) is second with 27 and Derek MacKenzie (2001-04) is the all-time leader with 28 ... Dragisich will tie the Duquesne all-time record for games played Saturday at Fordham, as four other Dukes have appeared in 77 matches throughout their respective careers … Noah Salsi (2003-06) is the all-time leader with 77 starts at Duquesne.  

AROUND THE A-10 

• The Dukes are currently tied for fifth in the A-10 with 10 points along with UMass and Fordham … DU is just three points back of second place (Saint Louis – 13) and one point behind Loyola Chicago and VCU, as each are tied for third at 11. 
• Dayton is in a three-way tie for fifth place with nine points, while St. Bonaventure and George Mason have seven points. 
• For a full schedule of A-10 games this week click here and for full standings click here. 
• The top eight teams earn a bid to the A-10 Championship tournament, with the top-four seeds hosting an opening round match. 

PRESEASON POLL 

• Duquesne was picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic 10 this season. Forward Maxi Hopfer and midfielder Ask Ekeland were named to the A-10 Preseason All-Conference Team. 
• DU totaled 144 points in the preseason poll, just two behind fourth place, VCU. Saint Louis took 13 of the 14 first place votes and totaled 195 points to be deemed the favorite after winning the A-10 title in 2022. Loyola Chicago, who beat the Dukes in the semifinals last season, grabbed the only remaining first-place vote and was picked to finish third, while Dayton claimed the second spot. 

HOPFER NAMED NATIONAL FORWARD TO WATCH 

• Junior forward Maxi Hopfer was named a National Forward to Watch by United Soccer Coaches this preseason. Hopfer has been a two-time All-Southeast Region selection by the United Soccer Coaches and has garnered A-10 postseason honors in each of his three seasons with the Dukes (All-Rookie Team in 2020, First Team All-A-10 in 2021, and Second Team All-A-10 in 2022). 

LOOKING BACK AT 2022 

• The 2022 Dukes, who finished 11-4-4, were in contention for the regular season A-10 crown down to the final game of the season. The Dukes, who were tabbed tied for seventh in the A-10 Preseason Poll, finished alone in second with a 4-1-3 mark. 
• The 11 wins in 2022 were the most by a Duquesne team since 2006. It was the first time DU posted back-to-back 10-win seasons since 2005 & 2006. 
• Along the way, the 2022 Dukes, who got off to the first 5-0 start in program history and set a record for most games without a loss to open a season (6-0-2), became the first Duquesne team since 2005 to earn a national ranking. DU appeared in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 for three weeks, reaching a high rank of No. 24 on Sept. 27. 

ABOUT THE COACH 

• Duquesne is led by 11th year head coach Chase Brooks.
• Brooks is second all-time in program history with 75 wins and has accounted for three of the program's five postseason wins – all in the past two years. 
• Coach Brooks holds a 75-82-24 record at DU and is 97-88-34 all-time as a head coach including two seasons at Niagara … In A-10 play Brooks is 32-38-14. 
• Brooks has led the Dukes to five Atlantic 10 Conference tournament appearances (2013, 2015, 2016, 2021, & 2022), including an A-10 Championship game appearance - the program's first since 2002 – in 2021. 

ACADEMIC HONORS 

• DU has been recognized by the United Soccer Coaches for its outstanding academic performance with a Team Academic Award (minimum 3.0 team GPA) 21 times in the past 24 years. No other Atlantic 10 men's soccer program has been recognized more than Duquesne since the award was instituted in 1996. 

UP NEXT 

• Duquesne will finish out their regular season at home, Oct. 25, against Wright State at 7 p.m. and against La Salle on Oct. 28th at 5 p.m.

FOLLOW THE DUKES 
For the latest news and updates for Duquesne men's soccer, follow @DuqMSoccer on Twitter and Instagram. 
 
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